Board of Directors

Amy Bouque

President

Amy Bouque is an Executive Director of Human Resources at Ally Bank. In addition to her professional career, Amy is a dedicated community volunteer and mother of two. Her community involvement spans from serving on the board of Cass Community Social Services, being a founding board member of Impact100 Metro Detroit, and volunteering for Focus Hope Delivery in Pontiac, to serving in various lay leadership roles in her church. Amy has degrees from Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

Amy Anger

Immediate Past President

Amy Anger has been a member of Impact100 Metro Detroit from the beginning, and serves as the contact person for our applicants for supported membership. Amy has spent a lifetime volunteering and supporting philanthropic activities. She currently speaks on the future of work, the emerging gig economy, and corporate culture initiatives. She has 24 years of corporate experience working in the law department for Kelly Services, Inc. and Kmart Corporation. Amy completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan in 1992 and in 1995 received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Detroit.

Melanie Knuppel

Treasurer

Melanie currently serves as Executive Director, Supply Chain and Financial Controls at Ally Financial in Detroit where she is responsible for leadership of the supply chain, payment and vendor services, and financial controls (SOX) functions. She joined Ally in 2009 and previously spent 6 years in public accounting within KPMG’s audit practice in Detroit. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Michigan and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Ligia Kennedy

Co-Treasurer

Ligia has a B.S. in Business Administration Finance from Eastern Michigan University. She has over 20 years of experience working in finance and accounting in various roles, with her last position being Director of Finance for Dialog Direct. In 2018 she made a personal decision to step away from her corporate position to spend more time with her family and on philanthropic opportunities, which led her to join Impact100 and serve on its board. Ligia lives in Macomb County with her husband of 15 years. She has 4 children, and enjoys traveling and boating.

Ashe-Leigh Hardy

Secretary

Ashe-Leigh Hardy is a Senior Accountant at Ally Bank. She also serves as the Development Pillar Lead for Ally’s Detroit Black/African American Employee Resource Group. Prior to joining Ally, Ashe-Leigh spent 4 years in public accounting within KPMG’s audit practice. Her community involvement spans from serving as the 2nd Vice President and Director of Communications for the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Inc. - Detroit Chapter to serving as a mentor with Winning Futures and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Detroit. Ashe-Leigh has degrees from Hampton University and The University of South Carolina.

Elissa Teal

Co-Secretary

Elissa Teal is a strategic planning analyst on the Ally Insurance Dealer Product Development team. She has a Bachelor of History Education from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Composition from The University of Toledo. She is the proud mom of 3 boys. She loves listening to epic movie music, reading personal development books, and coming up with discussion questions for the book clubs she leads at work. Fun fact – growing up in another state, she had always longed to move to Michigan; in 2014, that dream came true. And she loves working in downtown Detroit!

Kathryn Bentley

Chair, Governance and Analytics

Kathryn is a founding member of Impact100 Metro Detroit and past chair of Grant Review. With a B.S. in Marketing from Northern Michigan University, she worked 25+ years in the financial services industry, holding leadership positions in Sales, Operations and Process Improvement. In 2017, she retired from Ally Financial as Sr. Director of Business Systems. The following year her husband joined her in retirement and they moved full time to their home in northern Michigan. Kathryn is excited about becoming involved in her new community and continues to be active with the inspiring women of I100MD.

Madison Conley

Chair, Events

Madison is a Financial Analyst on the Auto FP&A team at Ally Financial. In addition to Impact 100 Metro Detroit, she’s a part of the Generational, Ally’s Employee Resource Group steering committee. On the weekends, she enjoys exploring the city of Detroit and being outside. Madison graduated with a Finance Degree from Michigan State University.

Debra DeBose

Co-chair, Nonprofit Relations

A native of Washington, DC, Debra is a social worker by training, conference planner, project manager and fundraiser professionally and a volunteer at heart. She retired from Cranbrook School Horizons-Upward Bound in December 2016. After an unplanned shorter than expected retirement, she accepted a part-time position with Cranbrook Schools Office of Community and Multicultural Programs. Debra also serves on the board of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Birmingham Chapter, Challenge Detroit and volunteers at the Torch of Wisdom Foundation.

Deborah DiCicco

Chair, Membership Management and Renewal

Deb was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2003, she accepted an assignment in Detroit where she met her husband and 15 years and 2 kids later, she calls Michigan home. Deb spent almost 2 decades working in the Information Technology area for GM and Ally Financial and is currently the Director for IT Procurement at Ally. Deb has a graduate degree in IT Management and an MBA. She has a passion for philanthropic work, growing up in a country with much social disparity and poverty, and volunteers for the Children’s Tumor Foundation and Cornerstone Schools in Detroit.

Kelley Fitzpatrick

Chair, Nonprofit Relations

Kelley is a Talent Management Associate on the Human Resources team at Ally Financial. She also serves as the National Community Outreach Lead for Ally’s Women’s Employee Resource Group. She currently lives and works in Downtown Detroit and enjoys spending her free time hanging out at the dog park. Kelley graduated with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science at Michigan State University.

Cathy Gearig

Chair, Grant Administrator

Cathy is a Certified Financial Planner and partner at LifePlan Financial Advisory Group, a wealth advisory firm that works with families and business owners to achieve financial independence. Cathy is an avid volunteer and has held several board seats throughout her career. In additional to IMPACT100 Metro Detroit, she currently serves on the board of First Foundation, an endowment fund of FPC, Birmingham. Cathy holds degrees from Michigan State and Oakland University.

Kim Huttenlocher

Chair, Website and Data

A graduate of the University of Michigan with a BA in English, Kim has spent the last 25 years raising two children and volunteering for a wide variety of organizations, churches and schools. She is past president of the Clarkston Community Historical Society, and in addition to Impact100 Metro Detroit, she currently serves on the Board of Directors for Blessings in a Backpack-Waterford and St. Vincent de Paul-Detroit. She is currently co-authoring a history textbook for 2nd grade students in her local school district.

Barb Kaufman

Chair, Financial Review

As a CPA, Barb Kaufman worked at PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Chrysler International Accounting, and at Kmart as Director of Financial Reporting. As a full time mother, she became active as chair of the Bloomfield Hills School District PTOC, organizing community service across all 10 schools for the annual Make A Difference Day. Barb also ran a children’s recreational organization and kids’ summer camp, including teaching classes. She is a Board member for Disaster Relief at Work. She has a BBA in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University.

Brooke Kircher

Co-chair, Financial Review Committee

Brooke Kircher, CFP, has been involved with Impact 100 Metro Detroit since its formation, and serves as the co-chair of the Financial Review Committee. Brooke has 17 years experience in the financial services industry, and is currently a Senior Vice President for The Huntington Private Bank. She and her team of specialists help high net worth individuals and their families with their unique financial needs. With a passion for serving the community, Brooke is also an executive board member for FAR Therapeutic Arts and Recreation, teaches financial literacy programs largely through Junior Achievement, and serves as a Sunday school teacher in the children’s ministry program at the Clarkston United Methodist Church. She is a 2002 graduate of Michigan State University and lives in Clarkston with her husband and three daughters.

Erica Peresman

Co-Chair, Grant Review

Erica is a lawyer and voting rights activist. She was on the leadership team of Promote the Vote,
which got Ballot Proposal 3 passed overwhelmingly by Michigan voters in 2018, and is now the Voter
Protection Director for the Michigan Democratic Party. Erica has been active in community
organizations since junior high and currently serves as Treasurer of the Detroit Jewish Community
Relations Council/AJC, mentors at-risk girls at Eastpointe High School through Women of Tomorrow,
and volunteers as a patient family advisor at Beaumont Hospital. She graduated from the University
of Chicago and earned her law degree at Stanford. She and her husband David Jaffe are the proud
parents of two adult daughters.

Tricia Skapyak

Chair, Marketing and PR

Tricia is a native Detroiter who now lives in Macomb County with her husband of 22 years and their two, not so young anymore, children. Tricia is the Director of Automotive Remarketing Partnerships at SiriusXM, with over 25 years of experience in business operations, marketing & sales. She holds a B.A. from Grand Valley State University. She has served on many philanthropic committees over the years through her work, church, and children’s schools. Nearly an empty nester, Tricia is looking forward to sharing her time and talents as she joins forces with the amazing women of Impact 100 Metro Detroit to give back to the communities where she and her family, live, work, and play.

Kelly Walsh

Chair, Membership Acquisition

Kelly Walsh is Michigan Marketing Leader at PwC, driving strategy and execution of community engagement, client outreach and alumni events throughout in Detroit and five Midwestern states. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Kelly has lived in Chicago and Washington DC where she provided leadership in advocacy, public affairs and fundraising. Kelly is a member of the 2019 Harvard Business School Young American Leader program and a graduate of Leadership Detroit. She is active in her community, serving on the boards of Grosse Pointe War Memorial and the Wayne State University Marketing Advisory committee. She is also a Girl Scout Troop Leader and volunteer for Alpha Phi. Kelly and her family reside in Grosse Pointe.